head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs rome
Open WebUI has 157,498 GitHub stars, 22,901 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rome has 881 stars, 65 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 17,777% (157,498 vs 881 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; rome is written in TypeScript under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, rome 7%. rome was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (llm), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Open WebUI | rome | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 157K | ★ 881 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 23K | ⑂ 65 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open WebUI if
- You weight community size — 157K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick rome if
- You want the rome feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and rome fits your workflow better
About Open WebUI
Open WebUI 👋 Open WebUI is a home for AI , a self hosted AI platform that's extensible , feature rich , user friendly, and built to run entirely offline . With support for Ollama and OpenAI compatible APIs , it gives you a powerful, provider agnostic interface for both local and cloud based models. Passionate about open source AI? Join our team → [!TIP] Looking for an Enterprise Plan? – Speak with Our Sales Team Today! For more information, be sure to check out our Open WebUI Documentation. Key Features of Open WebUI ⭐ 🚀 Effortless Setup : Install seamlessly via pip, uv, Docker, or Kubernetes (kubectl…
read the full Open WebUI overview →
About rome
Rome The agentic OS for humans and agents. Website · Try Rome Cloud · Documentation · App Store What is Rome? Most progress in AI comes from scaling models. Rome scales the other axis, the environment: the tools, workflows, memory, and interfaces an agent works within (why this matters). Rome is a guardrailed environment where human and agent collaborate, and the collaboration compounds. Agents build their own harnesses, design their own SOPs, and orchestrate workflows under your guidance. Proven capabilities stick. Every interaction raises the ceiling for the next. Rome also works as an open source alternative…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or rome more popular?
Open WebUI has 157,498 GitHub stars and rome has 881. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and rome free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and rome is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and rome?
Open WebUI is written in Python and rome in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Open WebUI or rome?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (157,498 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose rome if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.